James Harden became the first player in NBA history to score 60 points as part of a triple-double.
HOUSTON, January 31 (AP): James Harden became the first player in NBA history to score 60 points as part of a triple-double and the short-handed Houston Rockets beat the Orlando Magic 114-107 on Tuesday night.
Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to eclipse the 57 points Calvin Murphy scored in 1978 to break Houston’s single-game scoring record. After Harden broke the record, cameras in the arena showed a shot of Murphy, who works on the television broadcast team, smiling and clapping for the Beard, who also had 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
The game was tied at 107 after a basket by Marreese Speights with just under four minutes to play. Neither team scored for more than two minutes after that before Harden took over, scoring the next six points to make it 113-107 with 45 seconds left.
He set the scoring mark when he stepped back and made a 3-pointer before crashing to the court after being fouled by Mario Hezonja. He then made the free throw to give him 60 points and bringing the crowd to its feet.
Hezonja and Speights scored 17 points each for the Magic, who dropped their third straight.
PISTONS 125, CAVALIERS 114
Andre Drummond had 21 points and 22 rebounds, and the short-handed Detroit Pistons beat Cleveland after the Cavaliers lost Kevin Love to a potentially season-altering hand injury.
Love exited in the first quarter with a broken left hand, and the Pistons took advantage of his absence, snapping an eight-game losing streak despite a roster that was depleted by their blockbuster trade for Blake Griffin.
Detroit gave up three players to get Griffin, and neither he nor the other two players the Pistons received in return were available against Cleveland. Drummond — whose own status was in question because of an illness — had a huge game, and Stanley Johnson added a career-high 26 points.
LeBron James scored 21 points for the Cavs, but Cleveland was listless early and outplayed late — and the result felt secondary to Love’s health. The team said he had a non-displaced fracture in his fifth metacarpal and his status would be updated after additional examination Wednesday in Cleveland.
WIZARDS 102, THUNDER 96
Beginning what could be a significant stretch without All-Star point guard John Wall, the Washington Wizards got 25 points from Otto Porter Jr., limited Russell Westbrook to 13 and stopped Oklahoma City’s eight-game win streak.
Bradley Beal had 21 points and nine assists for Washington, which announced about 7 1/2 hours before tipoff that Wall will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Wednesday.
Paul George had 28 points for Oklahoma City, but zero in the fourth quarter. Carmelo Anthony scored 19, but he missed three shots in the final 30 seconds. Westbrook wound up with 10 assists, six rebounds and seven turnovers and made only 5 of 18 shots.
Wall, picked for his fifth All-Star game last week, is second on the Wizards in scoring, averaging 19.4 points, and is second in the league with 9.3 assists per game.
In July, he agreed to a $170 million, four-year contract extension that starts next season.
JAZZ 129, WARRIORS 99
Ricky Rubio scored 23 points and handed out 11 assists as the Jazz stunned the Warriors.
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Warriors, who had won seven of eight before facing the Jazz. It was their largest loss of the season.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr seemed to waive the white flag with more than six minutes left in the game, pulling his starters.
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 27 points and six rebounds while Kevin Durant finished with 17.
